Stop Killing Hedgehogs – National Hedgehog Day – 21st November

Pen on newspaper – Nov 2015. National Day of the Hedgehog – Saturday 21st November.

Hedgehogs have been in the world for over 60 million years. They have been voted Britain’s most popular wildlife creature. In the 1950s there were over 30 million hedgehogs in the UK. Now there are less than a million with numbers falling every year. This is very sad … The main causes are the industrialisation of farming with the use of pesticides and in urban areas driveways and patios are replacing natural gardens. And of course cars! The world goes too fast for wee hedgehogs. What can we do to help? Make a CD-sized hole in your fence or wall so that they can pass through. Leave a wild area in your garden with a pile of logs creating areas where they can shelter. Stop using pesticides and slug pellets. Please help save hedgehogs for your children’s children. For more tips visit www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk and www.hedgehogstreet.org

Loved the drawings. Hope all goes well with you both. Think of you often especially when I am in my room with Ronnie’s two drawings of “The goodbye Girl ” and “High on Junk” looking down on me. I think you know that these two drawings in their frames were two of the the four paintings I took with me to the home 6 years ago and they are much loved.
Always good to hear from you.

Love the drawing Ronnie, and we share your concern for the hedgehog. It would be too dreadful if they became extinct . We never use slug pellets here and certainly have plenty of space for them to use and to hibernate. Love to you both – Jenny

Ian Hughes Smith. November 28 2015. at 1030hrs
The memories of the grotesque savagery of the Parisian massacre remind us of man’s inhumanity to man. Ronnie’s hedgehog drawing and plea for friendship and courtesy to this harmless, threatened animal remind us that we can at least show humanity to our animal friends.

They share this universe with us. If we cannot stop killing ourselves and destroying what is dear to us , then let us at least preserve the vulnerable, lovable hedgehogs. Or one day they will be extinct as we perhaps deserve to be.

We are lucky enough to have at least one hedgehog in or garden regularly as well a frog and a toad. Sometimes we have two hedgehogs! We have several woodpiles and put out food regularly. When we came here in 1980 we sometimes saw three or even four hedgehogs but far fewer cars were on the roads then. Ronnie is once again doing a great job for conservation of wild animals – on a par with David Attenborough. Long may they both continue! Many thanks from the McKirdy family.

Dear McKirdy family – great to hear about your wonderful hedgehog friendly garden. Frogs and toads too! Fantastic! That’s how it should be with all gardens – being in harmony with Nature and aware of the needs of these little creatures that share our world and give us joy. Congratulations!